Mexican candies, breads and tortillas are also staples of a good carniceria, and La Curva is no exception. There also are Mexican cheeses, fresh La Curva salsa and ceviche.
Ricardo Torres grills La Curva's signature chicken.
photos by HECTOR ACUNA HERALD/REVIEW
Carne asada tacos are making Carniceria La Curva a popular stop for lunch on Friday and Saturday.
HECTOR ACUNA HERALD/REVIEW
Mexican candies, breads and tortillas are also staples of a good carniceria, and La Curva is no exception. There also are Mexican cheeses, fresh La Curva salsa and ceviche.
HECTOR ACUNA HERALD/REVIEW
Owner Juan Rodriguez, right, hired Ricardo Torres as the grill master for La Curva.
WILLCOX – On any given day residents in the Willcox area may hardly slow down as they maneuver the curve on Fort Grant Road, the curve where Brown’s Country General, a gas station and convenience store, is located a few miles north of town.
But on Friday and Saturday, long before you reach the curve, you’ll be greeted by the aroma of grilled chicken and meat.
Juan Rodriguez hopes passersby follow the savory smoke signals to Carniceria La Curva, his Mexican-style butcher shop, grocery and on two days an “asadero,” a grill.
Rodriguez leased the space from Brown’s and is operating his business alongside Brown’s gas station and convenience store.
“Carniceria,” is Spanish for butchers’ shop, but in the US carnicerias are always accompanied by the traditional Mexican and Central/South American groceries catering to the tastes of local clientele.
La Curva has a butcher’s meat case filled with cuts used in Mexican cooking, like the thin-cut skirt steaks for carne asada, tripe, tamale meat and bulk chorizo.
Mexican candies, breads and tortillas are also staples of a good carniceria, and La Curva is no exception. There are also Mexican cheeses, fresh La Curva salsa and ceviche.
All the makings for a pot of menudo, from the “pata,” down to the cilantro and onion, are sold as a package.
A slow-cooked beef barbacoa sold by the cup is also available behind the meat counter, paired with cabbage, onion-cilantro garnish and a handful of tortillas.
El asadero, meaning grill, is run on Fridays and Saturdays, with the first whole chickens ready by 10 a.m.
Juan hired Ricardo Torres as the grill master, assisted by Chalina Sanchez and Jodi Olivares.
This isn’t Juan’s first food venture. He’s also a partner at Plaza Mexican American Food on Rex Allen Drive in Willcox.
The spatchcock chicken, a bird that is split or butterflied so that it’s flattened for grilling, is marinated in spices that render a bright orange skin when cooked.
For 20 bucks you can get a whole bird with sides of grilled jalapeños, beans, rice and tortillas.
Also off the grill are carne asada and “tripa” tacos. Tripa (tripe) is also known as chitterlings, a Mexican delicacy of boiled and grilled beef small intestine. Its taco is typically dressed in cilantro, onions and salsa.
There is no seating, all food is to go, although tailgating and street style eating on the spot is not discouraged.
To find La Curva follow Fort Grant Road to 6533 East, out of town to the third “curva” 9 miles out. Open daily 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the meat counter, the asadero opens at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
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